Energy & Environment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for some of the most costly regulations on individuals and businesses. There is virtually no limit to what the unelected bureaucrats at the EPA can do, without congressional oversight or approval. The pursuit of alternative energy should not come at the expense of our current prosperity or freedom. Instead, Americans deserve a common sense energy policy that promotes competition and lowers prices.

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The Paris climate talks are now complete, with almost 200 nations agreeing to a framework for greenhouse gas reduction that attempts to keep any warming “well below 2 °C above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C.” The agreement is the crowning achievement of Obama’s environmental legacy and seeks to make the United States a leader in both reducing greenhouse gases at home and providing monetary assistance to developing countries to facilitate reductions across the globe. While the negotiators have gone home, the tough task of implementation raises serious concerns about the viability of the agreement. In fact, meeting the ambitious goals set out in Paris may prove to be too expensive and too problematic.

Devout socialist and communist sympathizer, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, announced on Monday an economically and constitutionally irresponsible scheme to "combat climate change and cut carbon emissions by more than 80% by 2050." Sanders' plan would impose a tax on carbon and prohibit extraction on federal lands.

On behalf of our over 6.9 million activists nationwide, I urge you to call your representative and ask him or her to vote YES on the Barton Amendment to H.R. 8. This amendment would lift the decades-old ban on U.S. oil exports.

As one of our more than 6.9 million FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and senators today and ask them to support the resolutions of disapproval against the EPA’s new air quality standards for ozone emissions. The House resolution, sponsored by Congressman Paul Gosar, is H.J.Res. 74; the Senate version, sponsored by Senator Jeff Flake, is S.J.Res. 25.

Later this month, a number of nations, including the U.S., will descend upon Paris, France for a week and a half to discuss global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place from November 30th to December 11th, and while most of the event will be used to discuss new ways to mitigate the effects of global climate change, President Obama will be gearing up to discuss the new additions to his climate plan. However, while the commander-in-chief is hoping that a bold climate agenda will spur other nations to take on or continue their own ambitious climate initiatives, the potential economic repercussions may create more of a dissuasive tone; especially for developing industrial nations such as China.

As one of our more than 6.9 million FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your congressman and senators today and ask them to support the resolutions disapproving of the EPA’s new power plant regulations, H.J.Res. 71 & 72, and S.J.Res. 23 & 24, and to co-sponsor the resolutions if they have not already done so.

Earlier this week, Republicans in both the House and the Senate filed resolutions under the Congressional Review Act aimed at the EPA’s greenhouse gas rules for new and existing power plants. These resolutions, if successful, would block President Obama and the EPA’s executive actions, and would only need the majority votes to do so. Although the measures would still be vulnerable to an essentially guaranteed presidential veto, they still send an important message to the President and the EPA on behalf of many states, industries, and businesses.

Following the announcement of a lawsuit filed two-dozen state attorneys general against the Environmental Protection Agency’s economically destructive anti-coal regulations, FreedomWorks CEO Adam Brandon commented: